lyef & thymes

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Waiting on the Lord

I have been waiting tables at Swiss Chalet for the last few weeks, and will continue doing so for the next few weeks before the move to Raleigh.

I am learning some strange and interesting things during my time there. For example, if you think that Canada has no class struggle, no semblance of the caste system, you are mistaken. There are loud, angry, non-english speaking dishwashers at Swiss Chalet that work terrible hours, for terrible money. They will never be promoted in their jobs, and will never receive a raise. They entered into a certain caste and will remain there as long as they are with the company. I break a dish, they clean it up.

Similarly, there are cooks in the kitchen who are much smarter, and faster and better organized than their waiter counterparts, but they are equally stuck in their caste. Finally there are the waiters who get paid the most, and do the least. I am one of these.

Another lesson is that you cannot judge a book by its cover, and you cannot judge a tipper by their appearance. The best tips I have received have been from the least likely of sources. Scuzzy trashy heavy drinkers tip the best. The neatly dressed family of four on their way to soccer practice tipped me 8% last night, while the white trash parents of three, in their early twenties, drooling grandma in tow, tipped 25%. You can't predetermine the potential in a person by their appearance, or for that matter, by how other similar folks have treated you in the past.